The Same But Different

[Eljugador]

I've been intrigued by traditional after getting back into archery a few years ago. I've been focused on state of the art compound bows, which I'm very much enjoying, but, as of late, I've been thinking there's room in a man's life for more variety.

I've spent many hours on another very large archery forum reading about compounds, backtension releases, etc. Lots of good information to be found BUT there have been times when people's spelling and grammar are so bad, it is difficult to figure out what they are actually saying. We're not talking a few errors here or there, we're talking borderline illiteracy. And we're not just talking about a few people. It's enough to make me wonder just how badly public education has devolved and if it's even worth saving.

Last night I was diving into some long threads on here and enjoying them very much. for a more basic/simple form of archery there certainly is a lot to learn. It took a while to notice, but it seems like the people on here have a much, much better grasp of the English language. It gave me hope.

But it also made me wonder -- is the demographic of the average traditional shooter that much different than the average archer? I'm assuming this group skews older, but in many respects, isn't it all archery? Aren't there several people who do both? Is traditional more popular in some parts of the country but not others? Does it have a greater "nerd" appeal (I use nerd as a term of endearment)? What gives?

[aroadik]

Well said, Welcome aboard and Enjoy ALL archery, as we do Cheers Pete.

[rubin43]

First of all, welcome!

I would tend to believe that it is not only age, but also willingness to learn and understand what traditional archery really was and still is, being scientific in regards to bow and arrow tuning, yet on the same token can also be very simplistic and make this sport less intimdating to the novice.

I am of course refering to this group of folks here at Trad Talk. I personally believe this is a very special place, in that traditional archery means more than wooden bow and cedar arrows and obsidian points and "thats all there is to it, period." Just reading the threads and post from guys that shot "traditonal" back before the compound or when the compound was just becoming popluar, you get a more down to earth pictue and understanding of what the sport was about...it varied somewhat yet remained the same in its essence from archer to archer.

I remember as a boy seeing my Dad's Fred Bear Grizzly and Kodiak Magnum with dozens of fiberglass arrows and some aluminums that he hunted with in late 60's and early 70's. It was the in late 1980's when I saw those, and have not seen them since, but those seemingly massive recurve bows have always been an icon of "true" archery to me.

:cool:

[NaturalFork]

The grammar here does tend to be better than on other forums I belong too. Maybe us traditional shooters really are better educated? Anyway you should take a peek at the slingshot forum, it is really bad over there.